Obama taps fundraiser Pritzker for Commerce post

President Obama on Thursday chose two old friends with business executive experience for top posts on his economic team, naming longtime fundraiser Penny Pritzker to the Commerce Department and adviser Michael Froman as U.S. Trade Representative.

Pritzker, a Hyatt hotel heiress, businesswoman and philanthropist, is Obama's pick to fill a Cabinet post that has been vacant since former Secretary John Bryson resigned after he said he suffered a seizure that led to a series of traffic collisions.

Froman is one of Obama's law school classmates and senior economic advisers who previously worked as an executive at Citigroup. The Cabinet-level trade post performs as the administration's top adviser and negotiator on international trade. If confirmed by the Senate, Froman would replace Ron Kirk, a former Dallas mayor who stepped down as trade representative in February after serving in the post throughout Obama's first term.

Obama made the announcements in the White House Rose Garden just before departing for Mexico. The nominations, which require Senate confirmation, complete Obama's picks to fill his second-term Cabinet.

Obama said the two will help fulfill his top priority to grow the economy and create middle class jobs.

"I intend to work both of them to the bone as soon as they are official," Obama said to laughter from a crowd that included the nominees' families and administration staff.

If confirmed, Pritzker would become the fourth woman serving as secretary in Obama's current Cabinet. She also would be the wealthiest in the Cabinet by far, with Forbes estimating her net worth at $1.85 billion and ranking her as the 277th richest American.

Pritzker is a lifelong Chicagoan who has known Obama since the 1990s and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for both his presidential campaigns. She was his finance chairwoman in 2008, served as co-chair of Obama for America 2012 and gave $250,000 to help put on his inaugural festivities in January.

Obama has called her a fearless leader for his candidacy "who never wavered, never waffled and cracked the whip with grace and good cheer."

Obama selected her for his 16-member Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board in 2009. When that board expired, Obama included her in his 26-member Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Pritzker has led several companies and currently serves as chair of investment firms Pritzker Realty Group and Artemis Real Estate Partners. She's also on the board of the Hyatt Hotels Corp., the chain co-founded by her father.

She's donated generously to education and the arts and resigned from the Chicago Board of Education in March as she was being vetted for the Commerce nomination.

Froman, Obama's deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, is steeped in the issues confronting the trade representative.

He has been Obama's main representative at international economic summits such as the meetings of the Group of Eight and Group of 20. He is responsible for coordinating White House policy on international trade, investments, energy, climate and development.

Froman served during President Bill Clinton's administration as chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin. He also worked as deputy assistant secretary for Eurasia and the Middle East and did a White House stint similar to his current job under Obama.

Before joining the Obama economic and national security teams he worked in various capacities at Citigroup, including managing partner of the Wall Street bank. He also has been a senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations and a resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund.

Among the top ongoing trade issues are negotiations over the Trans-Pacific partnership, an Asia-Pacific trading bloc that is key to Obama's efforts to boost exports to Asia. Members include the U.S., Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Vietnam, Chile, New Zealand, Brunei, Singapore and Peru. Last month, the U.S. approved Japan's entry into negotiations on the trading bloc.